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Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Texas A&M-Commerce 2011 Preview

2010 Recap

2010 Was a surprising year for the Lions. After storming thru the LSC North in 2009, things looked like they were turning around for A&M-Commerce. After a convincing 33-10 season opener against Upper Iowa, the Lions got blown out 33-10 in the Cotton Bowl game against Angelo State and an alarming trend began. The Lions passing offense collapsed and never looked back. By the end of the season, the A&M-Commerce passing game turned in a TOTAL of 5 passing TD’s on the year, against 20 turnovers. They would finish the season at 3-8, with 3 of their losses coming by a combined 7 points. In what seemed like the perfect metaphor for their 2010 season, the Lions lost their homecoming game to Southwestern Oklahoma 24-10 roughly 30 hours after it started due to weather and delays.

The Lion offense would end up averaging 19 points and 292 yards per game (both 13th). While their rushing offense would average 119 yards per game (9th), the passing offense only averaged 179 yards (13th), a dismal 88.4 passing efficiency (13th), and did their part in contributing to the worst turnover ratio in the Lone Star Conference last season (-0.91). There were a couple of bright spots though, as Marcus Graham had another stellar season, putting himself a mere 400 yards away from reaching Texas A&M-Commerce’s top 10 all-time rushing list. WR Kenzee Jackson burst onto the scene and was voted 1st Team LSC North as a freshman.

The Lions took a huge hit in the third play of the season, when they lost pre-season All-American Linebacker Cory Whitfield to an injury. With Whitfield gone and a struggling offense, the young Lions defense was thrown into the fire early on. Even though they were on the field way too much, they ended up showing some fight, only giving up 27 points per game (5th), 397 yards (8th), and 4th in the LSC in red zone defense. A new leader stepped up for A&M-Commerce in Sophomore Danny Mason, who finished the season with 99 tackles and a 1st Team LSC North award. By the end of the season, the well rounded defense would end up with 11 players with 30 or more tackles.

2011 Outlook

One of the youngest teams in the LSC, the Lions will return 42 letter winners from the 2010 season, including 8 starters on offense and 9 starters on defense. Oddly enough, last year’s biggest weakness may be one of A&M-Commerce’s biggest strengths this season. At Quarterback, one of the more interesting battles of the LSC preseason has been taking place between JJ Harp and Yogi Gallegos. When the Lions brought in JJ Harp last season, it was one of the bigger conference transfers in recent memory. Harp was coming off a 2009 season in which he was a Harlon Hill Finalist and led the nation in passing yards at Eastern New Mexico. However the Lions followed that up by bringing in TCU transfer Yogi Gallegos, who raced onto the scene and has made the quarterback battle in Commerce a heated race. Regardless of which one comes out on top, A&M-Commerce has significantly upgraded their most glaring weakness from 2010.

Whoever ends up winning the QB battle will have some playmakers to work with on the Lions offense. RB Marcus Graham returns for his senior season hoping to make his mark on the A&M-Commerce record books. He is less than 500 rushing yards away from reaching the A&M-Commerce Top 10 rushers of all time, and looks for his third consecutive season of all-conference accolades. WR Kenzee Jackson looks to build on a very impressive freshman season, along with a lot of young players returning on the Lions offensive line, including Connor Wise and David Sudderth.

On defense, the A&M-Commerce linebacker corps appears to be one of the best in the LSC on paper. 2010 preseason All American Cory Whitfield returns after missing the season due to an injury, after winning LSC North Linebacker of the Year accolades. In his absence last year, Danny Mason stepped up and became the player everyone thought Whitfield would be for the Lions, finishing with 99 tackles his sophomore season. In his freshman season, DL Tevin Moore also stepped up earning LSC North Honorable Mention, and the secondary will be bolstered by the return of CB Israel Hughes, who was 1st Team LSC North in 2009 before missing last season. Fourteen of the top fifteen tacklers from last season will be back in 2011 for the Lions.

Week 3 - Midwestern State @ Cowboys Stadium. If the Lions can pull off a win over MSU in front of the rest of the LSC early in the season, it could get a lot of momentum going for them early on. The Lions also benefit from a bye week before this game.

Week 8 - Angelo State in Commerce. A homecoming game against Angelo State sets up an important time in the Lions schedule. A surprising win here could signal a nice step for a Lions program looking to get back in the mix with the better teams in the LSC.

Best Case Scenario - 7-3. While it’s tough to imagine the Lions pulling off a win against any of the big three (ACU,WT or TAMK), none of their other games seem to be completely out of reach. The young offensive line will have to come together to give the improved quarterback position time to work for this to happen.

Worst Case Scenario - 3-7. Commerce will probably have one of the wider spectrums of possibility this season because of the situation at quarterback. If for some reason neither of the quarterbacks can turn things around or the offensive line struggles too much, they could easily end up with another 3 win season in the always difficult LSC.